Happy Birthday, Princess Braylee!

Today is Miss Braylee's 4th Birthday! We've had a busy birthday weekend, but I still promised her she could choose what we do on her birthday. Just like a true girl, she said, "I want to go shopping... at the mall!" This really translates to "I want to ride the carousel and get a fancy cookie!" She did tell me I can do a little shopping while we're there if I want though. ;)

I still haven't had a chance to upload birthday party pictures yet, but I wanted to share a little about Braylee's birth story and her photo montage. BTW, it's much harder to fit 4 years into one song vs. only 2 years like Brynna's!

I was overdue with Braylee too. We went in for an induction because my blood pressure was up. It was a good thing we went in when we did, because I still ended up with pre-eclampsia. My labor was horrible. I was on mag sulfate, puking, and my head still felt like it would explode from the high BP even on the medicine. The high BP also made my vision blurry, so literally, Braylee's labor and delivery is somewhat of a blur to me. But, it was alllll worth it when Braylee Annelise arrived at 8:45pm on 9.22.04. I didn't even notice her poor leg when they handed her to me...I just kept looking at her beautiful face. But, I guess Alex noticed it right away and Mom says his face was WHITE! Her right knee had gotten hyperextended in utero, so instead of her right leg bending backwards, it was flipped forward...her little foot was up at her belly. This became the least of our worries when we were awoke during the night and told she had stopped breathing numerous times. They moved her to NICU, where she stayed for the next 8 days. They did lots of testing... she had a small hole in her heart, a cephalhematoma on the right side of her head, mild jaundice, and she continued to have apnea spells. The cause of the apnea was sepsis. Praise the Lord, all of these things resolved quickly and we were able to take our little sweetie home. She went home on an apnea monitor and a leg splint for about 2 months. She was feisty in NICU and continues to be feisty today! While she didn't have the most glamorous start to life, she is still our princess. :) Her spunkiness and enthusiasm gets her in trouble at times, but she is such a bright spot in our days. She is soo funny...and thinks she's funny. ;) She's always been a little bit of an over-achiever but gets easily frustrated when things do not go her way (hmm, who does that sound like?!). She is already understanding the truth of God's love and mercy, and I love to hear her pray or recite Bible verses. What really can I say...we love her dearly!

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